The present invention was first described in Disclosure Document No. 468,498, filed on Feb. 7, 2000. There are no previously filed, nor currently any co-pending applications, anywhere in the world.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to concrete decking on bridges and, more particularly, to a lightweight form decking apparatus for extending between the concrete or steel beams of a bridge structure to facilitate pouring concrete decking on the bridge in a safe, quick and efficient manner.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bridge deck construction and replacement is a never-ending and ongoing process. The forces of crossing traffic coupled with the environment, force repair and/or replacement on a regular basis. If one were to watch this process of bridge deck repair, one would notice the large amount of lumber and plywood used to make forms for the concrete pour. These forms must be joined together using common carpentry techniques which consume a great deal of time. Also, most of the lumber and plywood must be moved into place using manual hand labor. This also takes a good amount of time all of which leads to higher construction costs. At the end of the job, most of the lumber is discarded which results in large waste of wood, forming an environmental impact as well.
In the related art, concrete decking is typically poured on bridges by initially positioning concrete or steel beams on pilings or other supports to span the river, stream, highway, rail road track or other obstacle. Cross-members, commonly called xe2x80x9cwhalersxe2x80x9d are adjustably positioned between the concrete beams at spaced intervals by means of U-bolts spanning the concrete or steel beams and plywood decking is nailed or otherwise attached to the whalers or to spacers positioned on the whalers to provide a support or form at a selected level determined by adjustment of the whalers, for the concrete poured on the bridge to define the bridge decking. After the concrete decking is cured, the plywood forms and spacers are commonly laboriously removed at great expense from the bridge decking. The positioning of the typically 4 ft.8 ft. plywood sheets and spacers on the whalers between the concrete or steel beams before pouring of the concrete is also hazardous to the workers, since the workers must traverse the whalers and the beams to both position and fasten the plywood panels in place. This job is both dangerous and time-consuming and results in a considerable delay in completing the highway or road system, of which the bridge is an integral part.
Numerous attempts have been made to correct for the foregoing problems. A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention; however, the following references were considered related:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,483,716 issued in the name of Bumaman;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,089 issued in the name of Shook et al.; and
U.S. Pat. No. 3,311,939 issued in the name of Yamamoto et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,792,552 issued in the name of Langkamp et al. describes a reusable concrete form panel sheeting.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,635 issued in the name of Tolliver et al. discloses bridge and road construction and method of removing a worn deck structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,221 issued in the name of Majnaric et al. describes a method and apparatus for bridge construction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,691 issued in the name of Tolliver et al. disclose shear connected structural units.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,031 issued in the name of Hyre describes improvements in concrete roadway slab forming.
And, U.S. Pat. No. 4,087,220 issued in the name of Koss discloses an apparatus for building a concrete bridge superstructure.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved form decking apparatus for temporarily mounting on conventional, adjustable whalers or supports between the beams of bridges to support the concrete decking.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to indicate a device of the type disclosed above which avoids the disadvantages inherent in the state of the art.
In particular, the device is to provide a new and improved form decking that aid in the forming and pouring of concrete for a bridge deck.
Briefly described according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a series of interlocking forms are provided that aid in the forming and pouring of concrete for a bridge deck. The system uses an interlocking grid of four foot by eight foot plastic forms upon which the concrete is poured. The forms have male and female interlocking tabs around their perimeter to allow the forms to lock together end to end and side to side. The top surface of the form is smooth and a lap joint around part or all of the perimeter""s vertical sides provides for a finished smooth look when the invention is removed.
The bottom of the invention is a ribbed design for reinforcing and strength.
The invention is generally lighter than the conventional wood plywood system used in bridge deck construction.
The use of plastic in the present invention is more durable than the plywood and as such permits reuse many times.
The use of bridge deck construction forms of the present disclosure allows for the construction of concrete bridge decks in a manner that is quick, easy and efficient.